Note: This is the 4th installment in a 7-part series on the bakers whose confections will be featured in the upcoming tea party.His blog is called The Demented Chef, although he calls himself simply, Cusinero Ge. ‘Ge’ is short for Gerald, which is this baker’s real moniker, and he is far from demented. Although if being demented meant that one has the ability to bake the way Gerald does, then dementia would be something more of us would aspire to have.Gerald’s cheesecake (P800/8”) is the flagship product in his baking repertoire. Four inches high and pearl white, it’s the supermodel of cheesecakes. Built on a somewhat thin and crumbly graham cracker crust, the cheesecake defines velvety. you can see how the cheesecake just wants to melt into oblivionI first tasted this cheesecake after it had been transported from Quezon City to Ortigas. From one air-conditioned space to another, the texture was akin to eating spoonable custard, hardly requiring any teeth action. Seeing my somewhat astonished reaction, Gerald’s wife Jamie says, “This will all melt in an ...

come hither, you lemon lover, youAside from my mom, I am the only person I know who can handle an acidic kick in the mouth. I’m talking about lemons and how they make my mouth p-p-pucker. I’m crazy for how the sourness makes the sides of my mouth water; it also makes my eyelids flutter rapidly, making me look like a diva wanna-be in overdrive: this reaction is brought on by lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, and Roshan’s lemon torte.A torte in this case is three layers of crunchy meringue with roasted (whole!) walnuts baked right in. When eaten, the walnuts shatter in the mouth, giving way to the meringue’s subtle crunch of complaint before melting on the tongue in a sea of sweet, releasing a dazzling tang of lemon. Roshan has said that she can actually vary the intensity of the lemon curd in the torte, depending on the request of the client. (Oh, in that case then, maximum intensity for me, please.)Roshan's lemon torte is the real thing: no soggy layers of meringue and no lack ...

All 60 tickets to the tea party have been sold. And the emails still keep on coming... Thank you very much to EVERYONE for the enthusiasm with which this event has been received. Frankly, I didn't think the tickets would sell out so soon.Those who are assured entrance to the tea party will receive an email confirmation from me today, Feb 22. If you do receive an email and then are unable to make it, (god forbid) due to some unforeseen circumstance, you must email me immediately. There is a very long waiting list of people who would gladly take your place.For those who emailed too late, I have put your name on a waiting list. Just in case a slot opens up, you will be notified.Please watch this space for more details regarding the tea party.

Admittedly, it’s a dizzying concept: 13 of the best desserts in Manila that I most highly recommend, done by seven of the best home bakers I’ve had the honor of coming across. To those who aren’t proud members of the “cult of the sweet,” it sounds like a toothache of (g)astronomical proportions. But for those of us who pledge allegiance to sugar highs, this event is a utopia.This sweet morsel of an idea is not mine. The genius goes to Carlos Celdran, he of the now-famous and much-in-demand walking tours of Manila. This “streetwalker” is also an artist who has recently opened up his own art gallery aptly called The Living Room. It’s a space for living in specific senses of the word. Carlos and his assistant, Ria Limjap, have extended an invitation to me to “hold an exclusive dessert event of which you are the curator.” That was how they described it to me, after which I promptly fell off my chair in sheer flattery and terror at the thought of organizing it all.The event is an afternoon of pasta and finger foods, just enough to ...

I’m one of those people who still believes in and is grateful for another birthday. There’s something irresistible about having one day just for myself where I get gifts and am treated like a queen. Then throughout the day I think to myself, “it’s my birthday, it’s my birthday,” and I feel my heart swell with pride and there’s an added step to my stride. How cool is that?I will never understand why people “pooh-pooh” another birthday. I see it as another year to be better in every way. I will also never understand why women especially are bashful about revealing their (true) age. Age displays wisdom, and as I get older, I’m amazed at how much I know now that I didn’t know then. I’m a proud 32 today. (smile)For my birthday this year, I wanted to try making a caramel cake . It’s my favorite cake in the world: light as air chiffon cake sandwiching a caramel filling and a caramel icing that’s poured on, so it’s mirror-smooth.This is a lemon chiffon cake possessing just the slightest flavor of the citrus fruit. While it doesn’t have that float-off ...

Yeah, yeah, say what you want about Valentine’s Day, and hop onto the bandwagon of disillusioned (dare I say, jilted?) individuals who curse this red-letter day to the lowest hell. It really seems to be quite the trend to hate February 14. So, if you’re looking for more ‘misery loves company,’ then you’ve come to the wrong website – at least for today – because I love … no, I heart Valentine’s Day.I love it because I just do. There are no flowers or chocolates or a fancy dinner date for me and my Bin. Heck, I don’t even get a gift, but I still love this day for what it is. Tonight I’m cooking a steak and pasta dinner for my Bin and Boo and I’ve prepared three kinds of desserts. Sweets for the sweet.Speaking of sweet, if there’s one day in the year that you absolutely, unequivocally MUST have dessert, it’s on Valentine’s Day. Or your birthday. You choose. I choose to have it on both days. (As if that’s any surprise.)Here’s an extraordinary gift to gift your Valentine – or ...

It’s a cupcake mix that comes with ten cupcake liners, icing sugar, and circus-themed decorations made out of royal icing. It couldn’t be simpler to make: simply add one egg and one tablespoon each of melted butter and water to the dry cupcake mix. A few seconds of stirring yields a very thick, viscous batter which is enough for only six cupcakes. Bake the cuties in a 350°F oven for 12 minutes and let cool. Then frost and decorate as desired.It sounds like child’s play but for a three year old, it’s serious business.My dad gave Boo the aforementioned cupcake mix a few weeks ago. After seeing me bake a cake yesterday, she suddenly got the urge to bake as well. I’m a big believer in encouraging my little girl’s creativity, so I got out the spatula and mixing bowl. All I did was measure out the ingredients for her and she stirred the batter. I divided the batter among the cupcake liners and then baked them for 12 minutes.Twelve minutes is a ...

It’s certainly a catchy gimmick – take an ordinary word, change the spelling, and voila, people start paying attention.That’s the concept behind Qitchen, (yep, kitchen with a “Q”), a home-based food business that specializes in what they call “hot specialties, frozen foods, and sweet treats.” Of course I’m most interested in the dessert, thus the photos of only sweets on this page.Qitchen is run by Sharlene Tan, who named the business after her favorite part of the house. Originally a baking venture called Streusel, it’s now expanded into Qitchen, but with three categories -- Hot Qitchen, Cold Qitchen, and Pastry Qitchen. Sharlene and her sister Jessica, who are responsible for Pastry, have been cooking and baking since they were 10. Of course talent at such a young age can’t go unnoticed, so it wasn’t long before relatives and friends began to take notice of Sharlene’s embutido and four-cheese lasagna, among others. Soon after college, Sharlene decided to zoom head-on into the food business.Hot Qitchen, which is run by Sharlene’s mom and the family’s long-time cook, consists of home-cooked specialties ranging from Pinoy to American. Cold Qitchen on ...